Passing along some great information about a charity race in DC that I will be doing on Sunday, October 17. I am always begging folks to visit and this would be a great reason to come to the Nation's Capital, give to a charity of choice and get a great workout to boot:
http://www.active.com/running/arlington-va/acumen-solutions-the-race-for-a-cause-8k-and-1-mile-fun-run-2010
For you runners or aspiring runners, the race is an 8k, so about 5 miles. If you are channeling your inner speed racer, there are cash prizes for the top 3 age bracket winners. If you are not quite ready to take it all, it will be equally as gratifying.
Happy Running!
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
Trimming the Fat...Tweaking the Lifestyle
Three weeks and two days ago, I decided to go vegan for a month-- giving up my cherished organic milk, eggs and every other animal product there is...it has been an epic struggle. I am that nutty chick looking at each ingredient on food labels, Googling foods in the middle of the restaurant or supermarket to ensure that they are truly animal free, and secretly tossing the Honey nut cheerios a coworker gave me as a mid-morning snack because those damn buzzing bees we love to hate produced the honey...ridiculous! Nevertheless, it has been worth it.
Biggest realization: Even as a vegetarian for the past 10+ years, I was not getting enough fruits and vegetables in my diet as I should have. I would have much rather had a bowl of cereal than a bowl of zucchini & red pepper stir fry, believe that! I feel like the past three weeks have served to diversify my portfolio of recipes and foods to go to on a regular basis. Contrary to popular belief, I have not lost all my friends, all my common sense and have not been completely confined to myhome during mealtimes. I survived a week with my carnivorous nieces, a family BBQ with the world's best Brazilian cake and cheese bread appetizers. I have not drunk an ounce of the Haitian Cremas my BBF's mom made for me a few months -- NADA. I have been on my best behavior. DC is a very vegetarian/vegan friendly city so it has been great help to my 4 week journey. Shout out to Sticky Fingers Bakery http://www.stickyfingersbakery.com/ for holding me down with the most amazing vegan cupcakes and the most orgasmic Breakfast Burrito on the planet! I cannot wait until Sunday to stop by for brunch again :-)
All in all, I am pleased with what I have learned. Hell, do not get me wrong, somewhere in my body, the gorda within is dying for Breyers Vanilla Bean Ice Cream but I would be almost as happy having a Tofutti Cutie next Wednesday http://www.tofutti.com/c-v.shtml
Bigger than the food challenge, I am continually proving to myself that anything is within reach and can be done. These insane mini challenges and adventures I put myself through every few months just reaffirm my inner "Rosie the Riveter", a woman that can conquer anything and anyone. If you cannot part with your glass of milk or cheese omelette to save the world, cool. Find another way to exercise your resilience, your will and ability to get the job done -- physically, professionally, etc. Never give in to the "rat bastard" within that constantly second guesses and doubts your own capabilities.
On another note, I have resurrected my pre-summer waistline and it feels great...*cues "Conceited" by Remy Ma*
Biggest realization: Even as a vegetarian for the past 10+ years, I was not getting enough fruits and vegetables in my diet as I should have. I would have much rather had a bowl of cereal than a bowl of zucchini & red pepper stir fry, believe that! I feel like the past three weeks have served to diversify my portfolio of recipes and foods to go to on a regular basis. Contrary to popular belief, I have not lost all my friends, all my common sense and have not been completely confined to myhome during mealtimes. I survived a week with my carnivorous nieces, a family BBQ with the world's best Brazilian cake and cheese bread appetizers. I have not drunk an ounce of the Haitian Cremas my BBF's mom made for me a few months -- NADA. I have been on my best behavior. DC is a very vegetarian/vegan friendly city so it has been great help to my 4 week journey. Shout out to Sticky Fingers Bakery http://www.stickyfingersbakery.com/ for holding me down with the most amazing vegan cupcakes and the most orgasmic Breakfast Burrito on the planet! I cannot wait until Sunday to stop by for brunch again :-)
All in all, I am pleased with what I have learned. Hell, do not get me wrong, somewhere in my body, the gorda within is dying for Breyers Vanilla Bean Ice Cream but I would be almost as happy having a Tofutti Cutie next Wednesday http://www.tofutti.com/c-v.shtml
Bigger than the food challenge, I am continually proving to myself that anything is within reach and can be done. These insane mini challenges and adventures I put myself through every few months just reaffirm my inner "Rosie the Riveter", a woman that can conquer anything and anyone. If you cannot part with your glass of milk or cheese omelette to save the world, cool. Find another way to exercise your resilience, your will and ability to get the job done -- physically, professionally, etc. Never give in to the "rat bastard" within that constantly second guesses and doubts your own capabilities.
On another note, I have resurrected my pre-summer waistline and it feels great...*cues "Conceited" by Remy Ma*
Monday, August 2, 2010
August Challenge: Go Vegan!
So many of you know that I have spent the past 6 weeks in NYC completing my first semester of an intensive 14 month school principal "bootcamp". Although my mind was stimulated to the extreme and I tried my best to work out pretty frequently, my body definitely suffered. I was out of sync with my usual eating habits, out of my element and plain ol' influenced by the habits of those around me -- stressed out Type A grad students with little regard for their health. Most of them did not just lose 40 pounds like me and I should not have expected to find many allies in the healthy lifestyle this summer.
I know that I can only blame myself and instead of a pity party, I decided last week that I would kick it up a notch with a new FitNista challenge. Those of you who know me well know that I am a woman of intense extremes so I could not pick something simple. Nope.
So I have decided to go vegan from August 4- September 4 and possibly beyond. I am currently a vegetarian but do eat seafood occasionally so this will be a challenge, but not totally out of my grasp. I did research last week to assess how feasible it would be. With that said, I am mentally prepared but socially concerned. A big struggle of maintaining the vegan diet is how one is able to manage in social settings ie. restaurants, work, etc. I will need to turn down some dinner offers or trips to grab frozen yogurt with the girls from work. BBQs and parties will be interesting to navigate when cheese, milk or butter are a no-go. However, I am pumped about the challenge and look forward to re-invigorating my healthy lifestyle and accomplishing a goal. I struggled with sharing this choice via any social network but am hopeful that I receive more encouragement and love than naysaying Negative Nelly comments...Hopefully. (If not, I'll throw a chickpea @ you)
In an ideal world, some of you all would be inspired to go vegan with me-- even for a few days. But, I totally understand that for many this is not practical, interesting or currently feasible. If so, find your own challenge to motivate and drive you closer to your health goals.
I know that I can only blame myself and instead of a pity party, I decided last week that I would kick it up a notch with a new FitNista challenge. Those of you who know me well know that I am a woman of intense extremes so I could not pick something simple. Nope.
So I have decided to go vegan from August 4- September 4 and possibly beyond. I am currently a vegetarian but do eat seafood occasionally so this will be a challenge, but not totally out of my grasp. I did research last week to assess how feasible it would be. With that said, I am mentally prepared but socially concerned. A big struggle of maintaining the vegan diet is how one is able to manage in social settings ie. restaurants, work, etc. I will need to turn down some dinner offers or trips to grab frozen yogurt with the girls from work. BBQs and parties will be interesting to navigate when cheese, milk or butter are a no-go. However, I am pumped about the challenge and look forward to re-invigorating my healthy lifestyle and accomplishing a goal. I struggled with sharing this choice via any social network but am hopeful that I receive more encouragement and love than naysaying Negative Nelly comments...Hopefully. (If not, I'll throw a chickpea @ you)
In an ideal world, some of you all would be inspired to go vegan with me-- even for a few days. But, I totally understand that for many this is not practical, interesting or currently feasible. If so, find your own challenge to motivate and drive you closer to your health goals.
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